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I had no idea where we were staying in Costa Rica until maybe a day before my flight, not even joking! People thought I was a little crazy, some said I would go missing, but in reality I was too busy keeping up with work in the days leading up to the trip to go over the exact itinerary. Traveling with Under30Experiences was also amazing because I didn’t have to worry about any accommodations or transportation ahead of time. They took care of everything for you so you can almost just show up in San Jose ready to go.

We arrived to our new home at night, so it wasn’t until the next morning that I could really take in the scenery of where we would be staying. Villas Mymosa was such a wonderful place to spend our time in Costa Rica! The plants surrounding you are beautiful (like almost all places in the area), the pool felt amazing after some long uphill hiking, and the Mymositos outside Restaurant and Bar was the perfect place for us travelers to spend time getting to know each other more over breakfast, dinner and drinks.

Our villas were about 2.5 miles down the road from Manuel Antonio National Park, so we hopped on the city bus and headed that way after breakfast. Whenever I travel I am drawn to a more local experience than a lavish resort, so exchanging my dollars for colones to pay for a bus ride was something I really enjoyed… even if our bus ride back consisted of being completed smashed in between people, while a couple very awkwardly exchanged aggressive gestures towards each other in the seat near us. Gotta love the little things, right!?

We arrived at Playa de Manuel Antonio and walked to the park entrance where we were greeted again with some coco locos. The group chose to stay hydrated for our hike instead of the rum filled coconuts (look how responsible we are!), and made our way through a gorgeous hike.

Playas Gemelas was our first stop off the trail . The turquoise blue water combined with the black rocky shoreline and green foliage was stunning. Following a 30 minute photo shoot on the largest rock area (hello, we all had to get our selfies in with no one in the background… with 15 people that takes time!) we made our way back to the path.

Another thing on my check list for this Costa Rica experience was seeing some wild life, and we definitely lucked out big time during our hike! At one point an entire group of capuchin monkeys crossed our path so close you could reach out and touch them if you really wanted (and if they didn’t attach to your arm when you did). Along with the capuchin monkeys, we were fortunate to also spot the howler monkeys and squirrel monkeys, but they typically keep their distance from hikers.

Our path then led to a beautiful lookout on Playa Puerto Escondido, a slightly tough uphill walk back up but totally worth the view.

On our way back to the entrance of the park we came across the cutest smiley faced slow poke– a sloth. That little guy was maybe 8 feet from our path and he was so fun to watch in slow motion.

After exiting the park we walked up the road past some colorful bohemian little shops (always my fav!) and stopped at El Sol for lunch and to cool off from the humidity.

Another home run for the restaurant picking by Under30Experiences by choosing lunch at El Sol ! My frozen passionfruit margarita cooled me right down from our hike and was complimented with some delicious tacos de pescado. El Sol is definitely a place I would stop on my next trip our to Manuel Antonio. Looking around the table there were so many other amazing dishes I’d like to try. After lunch we walked across the street to the the beach where we spent the rest of our day.

Some of the group took surf lessons while a few of us ladies hung back and enjoyed some relaxing beach time (well, despite that one wave that completely took me under and almost took my swimsuit with it, eeeekkk). We stayed oceanside long enough to see yet another bright Central American sunset.

Day 1 came to a close with Ladies Night up the road from our villas. When almost your entire travel group is made up of girls, Ladies Night is a great perk! A few vodka sodas and pool games later we ended the night with a life-size Jenga game where we discovered this U30X sticker from a previous travel group (shout out to the Nov 2015 group!).

Next up for Costa Rica on SB– hidden beaches, local places, boat rides & more!